This is a sequel to 'Behind the Lies' and 'Beneath the Earth'. Please read them first, or you will have no idea what is going on here :) Sorry for the wait, school is very inconvenient to the young writer. But here it is for all of you who have been waiting for it.
Read, review and enjoy.
1. Waiting
It was a strange environment for two babies to constantly be in. The doctors who shouldn't have had quite so much to do with them after the first few days of their lives, the tense, anxious atmosphere of the room, the near lifeless body in the hospital bed. But for Skye and Sayu, it was normal life. Katara and Suki couldn't leave them in the care of palace maids all the time.
Katara held her baby boy in one arm and held Mai's hand in the other, rubbing the back of the girl's hand gently with her thumb. She and Suki bounced their darling children on their knees as they sat at the woman's bedside, still waiting for her to wake up.
"Sayu's favourite colour seems to be green," Suki whispered, watching Mai's face, just in case there was some kind of reaction.
"We're thinking of moving them into their own room soon," Katara said. "You should see it, Mai, it's so beautiful in there. Aang helped us paint and there are the most beautiful paintings of bison and lemur all over the walls. It almost makes me wish that I was a baby about to move in there too."
Katara silenced herself when Suki put a comforting hand on her lap. They waited a moment, as if expecting Mai to wake up and reply. But she did not and both girls sat back in their seats and sighed.
"We wish you were here," Katara murmured. "I owe you for this." She clutched her little boy, Skye, just a little tighter in her arms.
Sokka walked in through the double doors at the end of the room. He smiled at his sister and Suki and at his daughter and nephew. Lips pulled taught in a smile, Suki's shining eyes sparkled at him and he leaned down to plant a kiss on her cheek when he came to stand beside her seat.
"How are we all?" he asked, giving Sayu a little tickle in the belly, which made her squirm. He stepped over to Katara and hugged her too and pinched Skye's chubby little cheeks with a playful smirk on his face.
"We're all good," Suki assured him. "Although, Mai still doesn't seem to have gotten any better. But she's not getting worse either, so I guess it's not too horrible. It could be worse."
Sokka eyed the girl in the bed briefly and then turned away, feeling a little awkward. "That's true – it could be worse. We've got to be glad that it isn't." He quickly added, "But it would be pretty good if she would hurry up and recover. I don't like you girls spending all of your time in here keeping her company. Why do you do it anyway?"
Katara and Suki giggled, "Just so she can tell that we haven't forgotten about her."
"She's unconscious – how would she even know you're there?" The girls rolled their eyes. He quickly put up his hands defensively, "Ya know what, don't worry." He smiled and then gently nudged Suki. "Come on, let's take Sayu for a walk. Katara, do you and Skye want to come with us?"
The waterbender shook her head with a smile, "No thanks, I want to wait around until Zuko is out."
"Out of what and where?"
Both girls sighed and said together, "Another meeting."
"Another one?" Sokka gaped. "How many people need to meet with the guy? He needs a coffee break!"
"Well, he is the Fire Lord – he has to put up with this sort of stuff. It's his duty," Suki shrugged.
"And he does a good job of it," Katara smiled proudly.
"So you won't come?" Sokka checked.
His sister shook her head, "I'll be fine here. Have a nice time."
Sokka nodded and took Sayu from Suki's arms. Holding their daughter in one arm, he helped Suki up with his free hand and they left the room together, fingers interlaced. Katara smile sweetly after them and turned back to Mai when the door swung shut behind them.
"I owe you so much, Mai," she said, holding Skye to her bosom. "I don't think I could have survived in there on my own. We might not have gotten along so well to begin with, but at least we weren't alone the whole time. And we got out together... and..."
A burning sensation ran up the back of her throat, through her nose and behind her eyes, making it a little hard for her to breathe. Skye gurgled uncertainly in her lap and she took a deep breath and looked down at the baby boy.
"And you saved his father – you saved Zuko. The other's told me what they saw happen, Mai. I am so, so grateful that you saved him, even though it made you like this." She looked back down at Mai in her coma state. "I don't know what I would have done if Zuko hadn't have come out of there alive."
Katara lifted Skye up onto the bed and supported him with her arms as he sat up next to Mai. His chubby little hands gently ran themselves across her face and he made adorable baby noises.
"He likes you, Mai. I think he knows what you did for his daddy," Katara giggled. She sighed, "I can't wait for you to wake up. I need to thank you properly. You've done so much for us – more than you could imagine. Or at least that's how it feels... I am so grateful..."
"Katara?" a voice asked from somewhere behind her. The waterbender looked over her shoulder to see Iroh standing in the doorway.
"Hello, Uncle, how are you?" she smiled, lifting Skye back into her lap.
Iroh chuckled at being called Uncle by his niece-in-law. She's started doing it shortly after Skye had been born, but Iroh wasn't about to start complaining – he thought it was great!
"I am well, thank you, my dear. And how are you?" he asked in return, walking over and sitting in the chair left vacant by Suki.
Katara shrugged, "Can't complain. I just wish Mai would hurry up and wake up."
"Aah, I see," he said sagely. "Miss Katara, I think you need to relax a little bit more. I think a calming cup of jasmine tea would do the trick perfectly for you, so the next time you have a spare moment, why don't you come by the kitchen and see if I'm in there, because I'd be happy to make you some."
Katara chuckled at the old man, "Thank you, Uncle, I'll keep it in mind."
She turned her eyes back to Mai's face and sighed, holding Skye a little closer up to her chest and resting her head on top of his.
"He is a beautiful boy," Iroh remarked. Katara flashed a smile at him again. "You know, it is not very good for you to lock yourself up in here so much. I know you are eager for Mai to wake up so that you can thank her for what she did to save Zuko, and show her your new little treasure, but..."
"I know, I can't let my whole world revolve around the moment she wakes up and it all happens."
Iroh nodded. Katara sighed and sat back in her chair.
"Zuko's meeting will be over in the next half an hour or so. He's been seeing everyone but you all day, so he'll probably be looking for you in the time between the end of this one and the start of the next one."
Her eyes lit up and she smiled, "I'll go and wait for him so he won't have to look far."
"That is a splendid idea! And in the mean time, I think I will go and make myself some ginseng tea."
Katara laughed out loud as she and Iroh stood up. They parted ways as they passed the kitchen and Katara continued towards the Peace Room, which had been renamed after the end of the war. Originally, it had been known as the War Chamber.
Skye shifted in Katara's arms and she cuddled him gently to her, smiling down at his big blue eyes.
"We're going to see Daddy now," she told him with a smile. He smiled his toothless smile and she ran her fingers through his short, soft, wispy hair. "You're gorgeous."
Outside the Peace Room, Katara sat down with the baby in her lap. For another fifteen minutes, they waited, listening to murmuring voices on the inside of the room – the disembodied voices that made no real words to them, but only sound.
"I have a favour to ask of you," Shang said with a perfectly straight face.
He had endured months of planning, meditation, revising the words he would use... and finally, there he was, sitting cross-legged in the Spirit World in front of Koh, the Face Stealer.
"Spirits do not do favours for mere mortals. Especially when they do not benefit from it themselves."
Shang had to stop himself from smirking, or breaking his perfectly emotionless façade of a face. "What if the mortal was offering to let you join him in world domination?"
For a moment, both of them stared blankly at each other. Koh showed him a few of the different faces he had stolen as they both thought.
At any moment once the world was theirs, one of them could double cross the other. All Shang had to do was give some sort of facial expression when Koh was around – slipping up for one second could end it all for him. But if Shang was smart enough, there were ways that he could double cross Koh and succeed.
"What is it that you want from me, exactly, mortal?"
He didn't show it on the outside, but inside, he was smirking. Things were about to start going his way again.
After a while, the doors to the Peace Room opened and men and women of the court, nobles and men of high position in the authorities and defence forces started coming out. There was much chatter amongst them as they found their way towards the palace exits and said their farewells before going their separate ways.
Katara held on to Skye while she waited for Zuko to emerge. He didn't. With a sigh of slight annoyance and a small giggle, she entered the Peace Room and scanned it with her eyes. Sitting at the head seat in the room, pouring over a pile of papers with a frown on his face, was Zuko.
An affectionate smile stretched itself gently over Katara's lips. She walked over to him, baby in arms and sat Skye on the desk beside his arm. She held on to the little boy and made sure he didn't touch anything. Zuko had looked up at the sound of her approaching footsteps and was smiling at her and their child.
"How did that go?" she asked.
Zuko sat back in his chair with a sigh and laced his fingers behind his head, "Boring, annoying, pointless... among many other words I could think of which I'll refrain from mentioning."
Skye leaned forward and reached his chubby little hand out towards his father. Katara scooped him up into her arms again and passed him to Zuko, who took him with a smile and cuddled him closely.
"Hello ya little stinker!" he smirked at their son. He lifted Skye into the air and raspberried his belly. The small boy squirmed and squealed in delight and kicked his little legs playfully.
"He missed you, he's been waiting to see you all day," Katara said.
Zuko passed his lover a look and she couldn't help the blush that tainted her cheeks.
"Come on, it's so stuffy in here and you've been in here all morning," she sighed. "Come for a walk in the gardens with me and Skye." Taking Zuko's hand in her own, she pulled him to his feet and once he was upright, he held Skye in one arm and wrapped the other around Katara's waist.
When they left the Peace Chamber, the hustle and bustle which had exited from the room earlier had died down. The hallways were peaceful and quiet and the excited chatter of many voices was absent. The couple walked hand in hand towards the gardens, Skye bouncing in Zuko's strong arms.
Outside, it was sunny. The air was crisp against their cheeks and spring was reaching its climax. Smells from the exotic flowers and plants that created the garden left their senses intoxicated and calmed them as they breathed the sent in deeply.
"It's a beautiful day," Katara remarked.
Zuko shook his head, "Not as beautiful as you."
Her cheeks flushed red again and the little family came to sit under a tree in front of Azula's burial place and the headstone to mark it, and Ursa's memorial.
Katara took Skye from her husband's arms and held him to her chest again, cradling him gently. She placed one hand on Zuko's back comfortingly. He smiled lovingly at his mother and sister.
"I wish you guys were here to see this," he murmured, letting his eyes wander to his side where Katara stood with Skye. "It's beautiful."
Azula and Ursa leaned into each other as they watched him.
"We know, my son," his mother whispered.
"We know, my brother," Azula sighed happily.
"We love you."
He could virtually hear their voices on the breeze that swept over his face. Katara looked beautiful in his eyes with her brown locks frolicking about her sweet face, and Skye's little hands reached up to play with the dancing strands.
Zuko's hand found Katara's and he laced their fingers together. He turned to face her and leaned his face into hers, planting his lips gently over hers. It was only a chaste kiss, but that didn't stop the butterflies from erupting in her stomach.
"I love you, Katara," he whispered to you. "You are my world."
Her eyes sparkled and her cheeks turned an even deeper shade of red. "I love you too, Zuko."
His arms around her waist, he kissed her gently on the forehead and then rested his forehead against hers. They looked at each other, lovingly, and then down at their son.
"M-M-My Lord?" a timid male voice asked.
Zuko and Katara straightened up. A messenger boy stood a few meters away from them with a small scroll in his hand. He quickly got down on his knees and bowed. When he straightened up, he unrolled the scroll and read.
"My Lord, the Sages of the Fire Temple request a meeting with His Grace immediately. They claim that it is an urgent situation."
When the message was read, the young man bowed down again and then sat up on his knees.
"The Fire Sages? What could they want so urgently...? Alright, go ahead and tell them that I'll meet them in the Peace Room. Arrange someone to escort them there," Zuko ordered.
"Yes, My Lord." The messenger boy bowed once more and scurried off.
Zuko turned back to Katara and their child, "I'm sorry, Katara, I –"
Pressing a finger to his lips, she shushed him, "It's ok, I'll see you again later." She pecked him on the cheek. "Go."
He kissed her on the cheek as a farewell and leaned down to kiss Skye too. The little boy blinked as his father retreated back down the garden path. His mother sighed and rocked him in her arms. Snuggling his head against her, the little boy closed his eyes.
"Are you ready for a nap, Skye?" she asked with a smile, looking down at the little bundle of joy in her arms. He continued snuggling into her. She held him a little tighter and started walking back towards the palace.
Inside the palace, she laid him down in a cot and kissed him on the head once he was fast asleep. She left the room, nodding once in thanks to the nursemaid who stayed behind to keep an eye on him. Katara would come back to check up on things in an hour. In the mean time, she'd go for a walk in the garden on her own, enjoying the sun until while it was still out and getting some much needed fresh air.
Well, that would be the first chapter of Below the Ice, folks. I thought we'd start off with some cute Zutara fluffiness. I hope you understood what was happening. Ha ha, I am sorry to those of you who read the two stories before this who were anticipating a birth scene, I didn't feel like doing that so I skipped it and went straight to this.
:) I hope you liked it and pretty please with sugar on top, leave your dear author a review. I need three (3) signed reviews, or I'm not gonna be able to update.
Lots of love, appa-appa-away.
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